Systems, methods, and apparatuses for docker image downloading

Abstract

The disclosure provides methods, apparatuses, and systems for downloading Docker images using a P2P distribution system. In one embodiment, a method comprises receiving, by a supernode from a client device, a download request for a layer of a container image file, the supernode selected from a supernode list comprising a plurality of supernodes; generating, by the supernode, slice information of each slice of the layer; and transmitting, by the supernode, the slice information and at least one target node to the client device, the transmitting of the slice information and the target node causing the client device to initiate a download of slices from the supernode to the at least one target node. By means of embodiments of the disclosure, the efficiency and stability of Docker image downloading can be improved.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority of Chinese Application No. 201710475273.5, titled “SYSTEMS, METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR DOCKER IMAGE DOWNLOADING AND PREHEATING,” filed on Jun. 21, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUNDTechnical Field[0002]The disclosure relates to the field of Docker image technologies, and in particular, to systems, methods, and apparatuses for downloading Docker images, systems, methods, and apparatuses for downloading a Docker image ahead of schedule, and a peer-to-peer (P2P) distribution system.Description of the Related Art[0003]Docker®, by Docker, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., is an open-source application container engine that allows application developers to package applications and dependent packages into a portable container comprising one or more layers. Application developers then deploy the portable container to any machine (i.e., deploy the applications). ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Compared with current systems, the embodiments of the disclosure have the following advantages.

[0012]In the embodiments of the disclosure, a control node, supernodes, and a P2P client on an application host are separately deployed. When an application needs to be released to the application host, the P2P client sends a download request to the control node. The control node allocates an optimal supernode and other clients to the client, so that a Docker image is downloaded from the supernode directly, or multiple clients needing to download the same Docker image download the Docker image from each other in a P2P manner. In this way, the client does not need to directly interact with a Docker repository, which not only improves the efficiency of Docker image downloading but also accelerates the entire process of using Docker to deploy an application. The method also ensures stability in the downloading process. Moreover, the embodiments of the disclosure are completely transparent to a user in that the user only needs to execute a Docker download command on a client to pull a Docker image as usual. That is, the P2P distribution system in the embodiments of the disclosure can be directly used to download the Docker imag

Problems solved by technology

In current systems, the efficiency of Docker image downloading is relatively low because it takes a significant time to export a Docker image from a Docker repository, to extract and compress a layer, and perform various other operations on the Docker image.

This leads to low efficiency when downloading a Docker image as a whole.

Each ap

Images